Need help from Italy experts!
 

We just booked a Mediterranean cruise for May. (Yes, I know it is late, but there were lots of extenuating circumstances that ruled out longer-range planning).

We are sailing out of Venice, and into Rome. We are having a lot of trouble getting air (there will be 4 of us), so are still working on that. But it looks like we will have to fly in and out of Rome, and take the train to Venice. Which I think will be fine. Do you have advice about this?

I have been trying to find a hotel in Venice, and am coming up empty. We plan to spend 2 nights there before the cruise. I have emailed Locando Orseolo. Everything I am looking at is booked so far, so I am hoping someone has an idea for me. Everything I have looked at so far is booked.

Also, we want to stay an extra few nights in Rome after the cruise, and need a hotel there, too. I tried the cruise options for hotel, and there is nothing left.

I also would like to pick your brains for our time in Rome. Would it be feasible to hire a driver to take us to the Amalfi Coast on a day trip? I was thinking of Sorrento, perhaps?

Since we just decided this last night, I am in a frenzy trying to make reservations. I know I probably sound disjointed. Any help you can give me would be welcome!

chicgeek,

It would be helpful for everyone to know what airport you are planning a round-trip flight into-out of Rome, if Venice isn't an option.

That's a start.

FCO airport in Rome.......... thanks.

The easiest way to find availability is probably through www.venere.com for both Rome and Venice. It showed 357 hotels available when I put in 2 rooms for 4 people for 2 random nights in May in Rome. Mind you, most of them you wouldn't want to stay in, but there are some good ones in there as well. Check them out here or at TripAdvisor.

It's possible to do a - long - day trip by hired car to the Amalfi Coast, but then go to Positano and/or Amalfi and/or Ravello. Sorrento is not even on the Amalfi Coast.

What's your home airport? Dpeneidng on your departure airport. You might connect through a number of Eurpropean cities to arrive in Venice.

Go to venere.com and check availabilities for Venice and Rome. You can plug in your dates and room requirements and get instant availability for many hotels at once.

Zerlina beat me.

Also, won't your cruise stop in Naples on its way to Rome? Naples would be the jumping off point for the Amalfi Coast.

Hi C,

What's your cruise itinerary?

Train schedules for Rome/Venice are at www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

((I))

You guys are awesome. I can't believe the help I am getting already. We are leaving from San Jose, CA.

The cruise does stop in Naples, but my husband has his heart set on going to Pompeii.

The itinerary also includes the Greek Isles and Croatia, so that is another whole area of research. Right now I am just trying to get the air and hotels nailed down.

I need to do a lot of homework. Thanks so much for your help. Keep your ideas flowing! Ciao

Using www.kayak.com I found numerous flight options with one stop. SFO to Venice, then FCO (Rome) to SFO. Prices start at ~$1100 each for random dates in May.

Round trip SFO to FCO for $900-1000.
One way flights Rome to Venice are about $100.

Personally, I would fly into Venice, either non-stop from NY, or connecting through a European gateway like Frankfurt or Amsterdam or Rome. By the time you arrive in Rome, wait for immigration and baggage claim, get to Rome trainstation then take the train to Venice you'll kill almost an entire day.

Sorry, just looking at my post and realize that it sounded like I thought Sorrento was on the Amalfi Coast. I was wondering if either was possible as a day trip from Rome.

Hi C,

Techincally, Sorrento is on the Sorrentine Peninsula, not the AC, but it is close enough for government work.

>The cruise does stop in Naples, but my husband has his heart set on going to Pompeii.

Leave cruise ship in early AM. Take no 1. tram from Piazza Municipio to Naples Centrale station.

Go downstairs to the Circumvesuviana line.

Take train to Pompei Scavi.

See Pompei.

Return.

Take metro to Piazza Cavour.

Follow signs to Archaeological Museum. Visit Museum.

It's a downhill walk to the boat docks along Via Pessina, which becomes Via Toledo.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))